Posted by Anthony Nkansi on
Lagos State governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Wednesday said the developer of the collapsed building at Ebute Metta, Lagos....
Lagos State governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Wednesday said the developer of the collapsed building at Ebute Metta, Lagos, will be prosecuted, while other houses built by him in the area will be consficated. He said this as rescue operations continued at the site, with no fewer than 12 people, including a three-year-old baby, so far removed from the debris.
As at 2.00 pm, when Tinubu left the scene, rescue workers, comprising officials of the Red Cross, Lagos State Ambulance Services, the police and other volunteers, were still struggling to save the lives of the trapped victims.
The Police public relations officer of the state command, Mr. Olabode Ojajuni, who was also at the site of the collapsed building, confirmed that seven of the 12 rescued persons were dead, while the rest had been taken to the General Hospital on Lagos Island.
Hundreds of sympathisers and residents of the area besieged the place as early as 6.30am, obviously to catch a glimpse of the action, but their presence prevented effective rescue activities.
Governor Tinubu, who expressed dissatisfaction with the slow pace of rescue operation, pleaded with the crowd to give the workers chance to carry out their duties.
However, the governor's threat to consficate other properties was received with shock by residents of No. 46 and 49, Ibadan Street, also owned by the developer who built the collapsed building.
They pleaded with the government to be involved in their relocation as they had paid rents for upward of five years, ranging from N800,000 to N1.5 million.
A resident of the street, Mr. Gbenga Bodunrin, alleged that officials of the state government received gratification from the developer and granted him approval when the residents petitioned them over the condition of the building, which they
nick-named "Titanic" in the area.
Bodunrin, an environmental health officer, said no fewer than 36 flats of various sizes and shapes were constructed in the four-storey building, while they have no means of discharging their faeces as no septic tank was constructed.
The developer, Messrs. Lakuns Investment Nigeria Limited, could not be reached for comments as at press
time as he might have ran away for fear of arrest